After being rightfully called out by What/If star Samantha Ware for making her time on the set of Glee a "living hell," Lea Michele is offering a public apology to her former co-star about her behavior on-set—and it looks like other stars from the show are proudly backing Ware up.
"Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget," Ware quote tweeted one of Michele's tweets about the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests that are happening all over the world in response to the unjust police murder of George Floyd. "I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would "s— in my wig!" amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood..."
After Ware's tweet exposing her behavior went viral, Michele offered a long, notes app, celebrity public apology on her Instagram account.
"When I tweeted the other day, it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbors and communities of color during this really difficult time," she wrote. "But the responses I received to what I posted have made me also focus specifically on how my own behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them."
She continued:
"I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people. Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused. We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings."
In a movement of solidarity with Ware, some of Glee's other notable stars have also been sharing their stories of working with Lea on set and adding their voices to the conversation.
"Hate is a disease in America that we are trying to cure, so I would never wish for hate to be spread to anyone else," Heather Morris, who played Glee's Brittany S. Pierce, said on Twitter. "With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out."
"It’s also on us because to allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we’re learning along with the rest of society. But, at the current moment, [it’s] implied that she is a racist, and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming, and we know what happens when we all assume..."
"I’m gonna say this one time...when my friends goes through something traumatic I also go through it," Alex Newell, who played Unique Adams on the show, said about their continued support for Ware. "That’s what friendship is...and if you can’t understand that then you’re part of the problem...and that’s on PERIODT! And I mean that for both sides of this coin!"
Newell initially tweeted "We ain’t got not a damn thing to lie about 6 years later!" when Ware's tweet about Michele started getting attention.
And another one of Glee's original, long-running cast members Amber Riley also weighed in on the controversy.
"I’m not going to say that Lea Michele is racist. That’s not what I’m saying. That was the assumption because of what’s going on right now in the world and it happened toward a Black person," Riley said during an interview with Real Quick with Danielle Young. "I’m not going to say that she’s racist. She’s also pregnant and I think that everyone needs to chill. Y’all dragged her for a couple of days. But at the same time, in my inbox there are a lot of Black actors and actresses telling me their stories and letting me know they have dealt with the same things on set, being terrorized by the white girls that are the leads of the show."
"I’m very proud of her for standing up for herself," Riley added, applauding Ware for speaking out and sticking up for herself. "I’m very proud of Samantha."
